Comcast Deal With NBC Universal Will Transform Philadelphia In A Big Way

Now that Comcast has purchased a 51% of NBC-Universal, giving it a controlling stake, the media giant has gone to uncharted territories, which are great for the city.

No longer will NBC be just associated with 30 Rockefeller Plaza. It will now also be tied to One Comcast Center on 1701 JFK Blvd.

Could there be a show starring Alec Baldwin, Tina Fey, and Tracy Morgan called "One Comcast" in the near future? That's not going to happen, but the Comcast Center becomes a symbol of Philadelphia going "primetime."

From a national perspective, our city has become associated with the following: poverty, a high murder rate, surly sports fans, and obesity.

The public image overhaul of our city begins now and this will be the best thing to happen to Philadelphia in a very long time. I won't go near the word "never" because face it, America was born in Philadelphia.

Before anybody gets in an uproar over what this will do to big business, media monopoly concerns, or anything of the like, you have to look at this in the context of this industry. This is an industry where media companies have been large, very large for quite some time. And, this isn't far different from Time Warner's merger with AOL years ago, which failed miserably by the way.

What does it mean for you the consumer? Probably not a whole lot. Your bill won't go up much if at all. NBC will certainly change. Restructuring will be in order and they'll have to improve their overall ratings. It's no secret that they've had major struggles with ratings this year.

Ultimately, Philadelphia is the biggest beneficiary of the deal other than Comcast itself. It will thrust the city onto the forefront of premiere cities in America. And as a result, the Comcast Center will stand as a testament to just how far Philadelphia has come just in the past decade.